Republican U.S. Senate candidate David Young raised $155,785.00 from May 31st through the June 30th reporting deadline. Disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Young’s first contributions came from his parents and Spencer Stokes, Utah Senator Mike Lee’s former Chief-of-Staff. The report also shows that a large majority of what Young raised in his first month as a candidate came from outside the state of Iowa.

Of the 162 itemized contributions Young received, 117 were from individuals who live outside of the state of Iowa, and nine other contributions came from Political Action Committees (PACs). Most of Young’s financial support for the reporting period came from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Young received 58 contributions from Virginia, 25 contributions from Washington D.C., and 11 contributions from Maryland. Young’s campaign was also supported by donations from 13 other states besides Iowa.

The contributions Young compiled from outside of Iowa amounted to $104,250, or 67 percent of the money he has raised. Financial support from inside the state of Iowa is a different story. Young received only 36 contributions from Iowa, four of which are from his parents totaling $10,400. His Iowa fundraising accounted for just $35,750, or 23 percent of the money his campaign raised.

Contributions from PACs accounted for $9,700 of Young’s fundraising total, or six percent of what he raised. In total, Young received nine PAC contributions, three from communication companies like Clear Channel, Mediacom, and Windstream, two from the financial and insurance industry, two from drug and chemical companies, and one from an agricultural related group.

Young bested his Republican primary opponents Matt Whitaker and Sam Clovis in the fundraising department, but his reliance on out-of-state money could become an issue in the primary. When the Whitaker campaign released its fundraising total of $110,506 on July 9th, it was noted that 134 donors were from Iowa, representing 78% of all Whitaker donors.

Since the reporting period ended, Young has made an effort to use some of his out-of-state money to solicit contributions from Iowa. The Young campaign sent out a fundraising letter that hit mailboxes over a week ago. The next reporting period for the U.S. Senate candidates is on September 30th.

TheIowaRepublican.com will also provide a full analysis of Matt Whitaker’s and Sam Clovis’ fundraising reports once they are made public.

About the Author

Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson is the founder and editor-in-chief of TheIowaRepublican.com, a political news and commentary site he launched in March of 2009. Robinson’s political analysis is respected across party lines, which has allowed him to build a good rapport with journalist across the country.
Robinson has also been featured on Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Press, ABC’s This Week, and other local television and radio programs. Campaign’s & Elections Magazine recognized Robinson as one of the top influencers of the 2012 Iowa Caucuses.
A 2013 Politico article sited Robinson and TheIowaRepublican.com as the “premier example” of Republican operatives across the country starting up their own political news sites. His website has been repeatedly praised as the best political blog in Iowa by the Washington Post, and in January of 2015, Politico included him on the list of local reporters that matter in the early presidential states.
Robinson got his first taste of Iowa politics in 1999 while serving as Steve Forbes’ southeast Iowa field coordinator where he was responsible for organizing 27 Iowa counties. In 2007, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa where he was responsible for organizing the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll and the 2008 First-in-the-Nation Iowa Caucuses. Following the caucuses, he created his own political news and commentary site, TheIowaRepublcian.com.
Robinson is also the President of Global Intermediate, a national mail and political communications firm with offices in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Washington, D.C. Robinson utilizes his fundraising and communications background to service Global’s growing client roster with digital and print marketing.
Robinson is a native of Goose Lake, Iowa, and a 1999 graduate of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, where he earned degrees in history and political science. Robinson lives in Ankeny, Iowa, with his wife, Amanda, and son, Luke. He is an active member of the Lutheran Church of Hope.